French Open Day 3

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Nothing much happened today on the third day, so a quick intro and then onto the main agenda. Do you miss the 70's? Tennis wise, Backspin does. Borg, Evert, Connors, Vilas, Navratilova, McEnroe and Evonne, too. Great players. Talented players. Forty years ago this is how it went for the seeds:



Now that is intriguing. You had early upsets but enough good players that the latter rounds always delivered. That theme has stayed with the French for a long time. But this tournament there are no early juicy upsets. Nothing much is happening yet. Bouchard has gone in the ladies draw, but the WTA has a different problem.

Dimitrov losing is a good start, but was he expected to make a deep run?

Still, it would be good if a couple of seeds could fall. At Wimbledon there will be upsets early, but for now we must wait. So let's get to it...

*Suicide Pick*
We all know how this works. Pick a player to win each round but you cannot pick them again.
Men's Singles 1r: Verdasco [32] d. Daniel [Q]
Men's Singles 2r: Cilic [9] d. Arnaboldi [Q]
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Women's Singles: Barthel d. Kania (out)


PHILIPPE CHATRIER: NADAL D. HALYS
...In days gone by, Halys would have pushed Nadal. When all around here was green fields Halys would not have got five games. But these days Nadal is now what he was. And Halys is young and sprightly. He has power and the arrogance of youth. He played the right tactic and went for his shots, but the 52 errors were too many. Nadal was conservative in the 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory. He hit 26 winners and just 13 errors. He is getting into the groove of things, but the next match will give him a sterner test. Rafa won 47 per cent of points when receiving and lost just 17 points on serve. Nadal will need to play the same way. He will need to work Almagro and not miss too much. If he can be consistent the match is in the bag. But if he misses and Almagro serves well then steals a set, Nadal could be in for a long one.
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PHILIPPE CHATRIER: DJOKOVIC D. NIEMINEN
...Jarkko is a diminutive version of Jarmo, which is the Finnish for Jeremiah. Jeremiah, of course, means "the uplifted." And Jarkko was lifted right up and out of the tournament by the top seed. Djokovic looks ready to take the title he has been missing. Federer and Agassi both took the title on their eleventh attempt and got the grand slam with it. Can Djokovic do the same on his 11th attempt? Djokovic broke six times in a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory against the Finnish number one. Djokovic lost his serve just once and had a first serve percentage of 75. He was more aggressive, coming to the net almost 40 times. He showed how he is going to beat other lefties who he may face later. He will be aggressive and serve well. It looks to be a good tactic. Djokovic is easy to find in the draw, at least. He will play Muller or Lorenzi. They play their last set tomorrow with the match tied at 2 sets all. But after that Kokkinakis or Tomic will be waiting for the top seed.
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SUZANNE LENGLEN: FERRER D. LACKO
...Last time they played at a slam was here. Ferru won in 2012 by a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 score. This time it was 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. I guess Ferrer must have something against Lucas. Ferrer was so dominant he won 58 per cent of receiving points. When Ferru hits that kind of form there isn't much one can do. Gimeno-Traver is up next and he certainly will put up more resistance. Ferrer is going to take some beating. Over five on this surface it may be beyond even Murray.
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SUZANNE LENGLEN: GASQUET D. GIGOUNON
...Another match on a show court which was over all too quickly. This was a big non-event with Gasquet never being troubled by his Belgian opponent. Gasquet has a great record in third rounds but an abject one in fourth rounds. Gasquet cruised to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 victory, winning 60 per cent of points on his second serve. The Frenchman may have been playing someone not quite at his level, but he dismissed him like a pro. He took seven break chances out of seven. That kind of accuracy is what the Frenchman needs to retain. Berlocq had to come back from two sets to none down against Marchenko and now he gets Gasquet. Expect more of a struggle for the Frenchy, but there's only one winner here.
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COURT ONE: SOCK D. DIMITROV
...Nobody thought this was possible. Jack should take a set off Dimi. He should threaten the young Bulgarian, but to actually win? Jack Sock has come on leaps and bounds since partnering with Vasek. The doubles has given him the confidence to do more. He has been working on that back hand, too. Sock cruised through and it isn't often an upset is this heavy. Sock won 7-6[7], 6-2, 6-3 and stopped Dimitrov in his tracks. He was never broken as Dimtrov won just 28 per cent of receiving points. If Sock can get a run going here he should crack the top 30. It's nice to see him hit 30 winners, too. Being aggressive is the answer sometimes. Carreno Busta is next. But after that Coric or Robredo will play the part of spoiler. It is a great win for Sock, perhaps even a signature win.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: ALMAGRO D. DOLGOPOLOV
...These two are the classic case of what could have been. Almagro nearly fulfilled his potential. He eked out a decent career. But Dolgopolov could have had so much more. He could have dominated the tour. He had every shot and he could deploy every shot. His serve was big enough to be a weapon and his forehand and slice backhand devastate opponents. And Almagro has the most variety of any player just about. He can do anything with a ball. So why hasn't he made slam semis and finals? The Spaniard won 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6[6]. Dolgopolov won two more points and hit 55 winners. He still fell short. He needs a therapist and a psychologist, not a coach. Nadal/Almgro is up next. And that is one to watch.
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Any other notes?

* - Savor the image of Nadal on Parisian clay
* - Tomic and Kokkinakis play for the right to play Nadal in the third round. If Kyrgios wins we may have our first slam with two Aussies in the third round for a while
* - Casey Dellacqua does not play tomorrow.

Well, I'm out for now.

Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

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